Los Angeles
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he deserved the reprimand he
got from the NBA on Wednesday for making a gay sexual
reference in a comment following the Lakers' loss in
San Antonio.
The Spurs made 13
three-pointers in their 107-92 victory on Tuesday
night, and Jackson was asked if too much penetration was
leading to open outside shooters.
''We call this a
Brokeback Mountain game, because there's so much
penetration and kick-outs,'' Jackson said. ''It was one of
those games.''
The 2005 film,
which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal
their homosexual affair.
''But in
retrospect, it wasn't really funny,'' Jackson said before
the Lakers played Houston on Wednesday night. ''When
you take it out of context, it wasn't funny. It was a
poor attempt at humor, and I deserved to be
reprimanded by the NBA.''
Still, Jackson
couldn't resist making another joke as he apologized.
''If I've
offended any horses, Texans, cowboys, or gays, I
apologize,'' Jackson said.
Jackson thanked
beat writers and other journalists who covered Tuesday's
game for dismissing the comment as an innocent joke. He said
several of them laughed when he said it.
The NBA did not.
NBA spokesman
Brian McIntyre said: ''The remarks are in poor taste, and
the Lakers have assured us such remarks will not occur in
the future.''
Jackson admitted
he should've known better -- that coaches can't get away
with the jokes that Jay Leno and David Letterman do for a
living on their late-night talk shows.
''It's societal
right now,'' he said. ''Some people can do it. Some
people can't. That's something that's appropriate for
certain categories.''
Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation president Neil G. Giuliano
issued a statement saying, ''Phil Jackson's been coaching
long enough that he should be able to talk about the
Lakers' performance without resorting to cheap gay
jokes.'' (Chris Duncan, AP)
